ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Integrity Commission has arrested 47 suspects, including lawmakers and senior officials, on corruption charges following an operation carried out early Sunday in a rare large-scale security deployment in Baghdad, state media reported.
“There are senior officials involved,” Sherwan Dubardani, a Kurdish lawmaker in the Iraqi Parliament, told Rudaw on Sunday regarding the suspects who have reportedly fled to Amman, Dubai, and the Kurdistan Region.
“The KRG is committed to handing over suspects to Baghdad,” Dubardani added, underlining active coordination between the two governments to enforce outstanding arrest warrants. He also said two officials have already been apprehended in Erbil and are expected to be transferred to federal authorities.
The arrests come amid an ongoing investigation into Adnan al-Jumaili, the former deputy oil minister for refining affairs, whose arrest last month has led to one of Iraq's largest corruption probes in years. The high-profile graft case against Jumaili initially involved the judicial seizure of $85 million in cash, luxury vehicles, 70 real estate properties, and approximately three kilograms of gold from the detained official and his close associates.
Jumaili’s arrest marks the first major anti-corruption case under the administration of newly appointed Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi as part of a “comprehensive” reform agenda enacted late May aimed at combating corruption and reducing the country's overreliance on oil revenues.
In a statement released by Iraqi state media, the Commission said the arrests were carried out in Baghdad under legal procedures and amid “diligent and continuous monitoring,” during a major overnight operation that reportedly led to the detention of multiple former officials, lawmakers, and businessmen across several provinces.
Counter-terrorism forces and army units, working alongside the Integrity Commission, moved into Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone overnight, temporarily shutting its gates as the raids unfolded.
The high-security zone hosts the US embassy, other diplomatic missions, and the seat of Iraq's government.
The Commission also released the names of 15 detainees, which include members of parliament, Azm Alliance leader Muthanna al-Samarrai, deputy oil minister Ali Ma’arj, and Ibrahim al-Sumaidaie, an adviser to the former Iraqi prime minister.
Dubardani told Rudaw on Sunday that the federal government coordinates with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to track down high-profile suspects who fled the capital after the operation, according to a lawmaker.
“I initially thought that the suspects numbered 128 individuals, but that figure might ultimately rise to 200 or 300,” Dubardani said.
Abd al-Rahman al-Jazairi, a Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) official affiliated with the defense ministry, told Rudaw security operations are expected to continue across Iraq.
“A number of leaders of armed groups are also set to be arrested,” Abd al-Rahman al-Jazairi said. “They must surrender themselves to the court, otherwise they will be arrested and brought before the law.”
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